Kelowna project relaunches — but with a number of updates

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Project: 1151 Sunset Drive

Project location:  1151 Sunset Drive, Kelowna

Project size/scope: 117 condominium homes in a 21-storey concrete building and seven street-level townhomes. Located in the heart of Kelowna, a few blocks walk to the Lake Okanagan beach, restaurants, cafés and bars.

Prices: One bedroom from 624 sq. ft., $309,900 to $347,900; One bedroom and den 596 sq. ft. to 851 sq. ft., $289,900 to $489,900; Two bedroom/two bedroom and den, 820 sq. ft. to 1093 sq. ft. $399,900 to $717,900; townhomes 1,567 to 1,569 sq. ft., $739,900 to 899,900; sub-penthouses 2,026 to 2,157 sq. ft., from $1,399,900

Developer: Kerkhoff Construction Ltd., Chilliwack

Architect:  Meiklejohn Architects Inc., Kelowna

Interior designer: Giraffe Design, Vancouver

Sales centre: 1001 Manhattan Drive

Sales phone: 250-980-7637

Hours: Mon — Wed 11 a.m. —  5 p.m.; Thurs — Fri 11 a.m. —  7 p.m. Sat 11 a.m. — 4 p.m.

Website: 1151Sunset.com

Occupancy: Fall 2018

The wave of retiring baby boomers and the growing number of young professionals who have been shut out of the Vancouver residential market is giving new life to a 21-storey concrete highrise in Kelowna, say its developers.

Construction of the tower, called 1151 Sunset Drive after its address, started in 2008, but stalled during the financial meltdown that year. The site, with just the largely above-grade parkade built, sat idle until earlier this year when Chilliwack-based Kerkhoff Construction stepped in to restart the project.

“We had a number of opportunities we were looking at in West Kelowna, downtown and other areas,” said Leonard Kerkhoff, company vice-president and general manager. “This one really appealed to us, being downtown Kelowna near the water in a prestigious area.”

Kerkhoff, a third-generation member of a family that started building homes in 1966, says there is a constellation of indicators that point to 1151 Sunset Drive being a success.

“Our target market is firstly move-down buyers, both local and from Vancouver and Calgary, people moving to a smaller home with less maintenance, snowboard-type people who want to live in Kelowna and go south for the winter.”

Also fuelling the need for new homes are first-time buyers and young professionals who are considering working in Kelowna at one of the new job generators, which include the Interior Health building and the high-tech Innovation Centre, together accounting for an anticipated 1,200 positions, he said.

Sunset Drive is one of several projects in the downtown district where clearing commenced in the mid-2000s only to lie fallow until the last two years. Helping to stimulate the strong interest in the downtown core are the redevelopment of the nearby lakefront and Bernard Avenue.

 “It is just a five-minute walk to the Kelowna Yacht Club, and the whole walkway has been improved over the last few years,” Kerkoff said. “There are a lot of changes coming to downtown Kelowna.”

 To accommodate this new-found interest from a diverse market, he said, “we’ve got 117 condos in the building and seven townhomes at street level. We have a range of one-bedroom to four-bedroom units available, each appealing to a different market.”

 “This is a really nice neighbourhood and we compare it to a Yaletown feel. It has high-end restaurants right across the street. We wouldn’t be doing this right now if we didn’t feel absolutely 100-per- cent positive about the market, and it’s great right now.”

The building was approved under a 2006 building permit, but has undergone modernization, says architect Jim Meiklejohn, whose firm took over design work from the original architect.

“We’re trying to connect the building to the neighbourhood at the ground plane with the landscaping and townhouse units that surround the tower and quite a large reflective water feature and a smaller pool area for the residents’ use,” said Meiklejohn. His firm has also modernized the exterior.

 Inside, the suites are being updated with contemporary countertops, modern appliances and hardwood flooring, while a few more suites have been added to the original design.

 Notes Kerkhoff of the Okanagan city: “I have heard Kelowna being referred to as Silicon Valley. It is getting expensive to live in Vancouver. It makes perfect sense to build the buildings where the cost of living is cheaper for young people.”

 Meiklejohn agrees.

 “There is a whole new vibe to the downtown,” the architect said. “It’s urban, it’s pedestrian, it’s relatively green and it’s pretty sophisticated. And I think that young professionals are bailing out of the Vancouver market because they can’t get in, and Kelowna is becoming a viable option.”

 From the computer-generated views available on 1151 Sunset Drive’s website, buyers will get a sense of the impressive views of Okanagan Lake and the surrounding mountains on offer. 

 Inside the homes, large floor-to-ceiling windows will take advantage of those views, as do generously sized balconies. The homes have nine-foot-high ceilings. Flooring is plank engineered hardwood through the living areas and bedrooms with tile flooring in the bathrooms. All homes come with window blinds, pot lights in select locations, and three panel interior doors.

 Kitchens feature shaker cabinets with full-height upper units, quartz and marble countertops, two-basin undermount stainless steel sinks, and stainless steel appliance packages that include a 30-inch slide-in gas range with built-in range hood fan, a 17-cubic-foot Energy Star bottom-mounted freezer and a high-temperature dishwasher, and a microwave.

 The bathrooms feature vanity cabinets that match the kitchen cabinetry, a shower in the master bathroom and tub-shower combinations in other bathrooms.

 Amenities include a multi-purpose room with kitchen and lounge area, outdoor private terrace space with a plunge pool and a barbecue facility, fitness room and business meeting work space.

 Two presentation suites are being finished now and are expected to be open for viewing this month.